Black Static

Back in September of last year the British Fantasy Society published a book of interviews with writers of horror fiction, and caused an outcry through simply forgetting to include any female authors in a line-up that was supposed to represent the current state of play in the horror genre. The response to this criticism by then chair Guy Adams was a full and unqualified apology, and an admission of 'unconscious sexism', and all credit to him for taking that stand.

Six months on and lessons do not appear to have been learned, with SFX magazine falling into an almost similar error. In February they put out a Horror Special in which female contributors were deplorably thin on the ground (I'll make no judgement on the quality of their content, as I haven't read the magazine), with a feature in which 34 horror worthies were asked to name 'Hidden Treasures' of the genre standing out like the proverbial sore thumb - none of the 34 were female and between them they only managed to discover one hidden treasure from the distaff side of the genre. Statisticians probably have a special term for this sort of result, but the rest of us can only sigh and shake our heads at another own goal from the media advocates of the genre we love.

Criticism was first voiced by blogger Maura McHugh, whose story 'Vic' appeared in Black Static #10, and I recommend clicking on the link below to visit her blog for a full and articulate account of what's been going on.

In such a climate, I wondered how we at Black Static measured up, if perhaps we too might have fallen into the trap of unconscious sexism.

For starters I took a look at the fiction we've been publishing, and near as I can tell there's only been one issue in which women were not represented (#4), while at the other end of the spectrum there have been a couple in which the honours were evenly divided between genders. And while publishing credits might not be divided 50/50 all down the line, the female contributors have been punching above their weight, with Carole Johnstone's 'Dead Loss' the only story from 2009 to have been picked up by Ellen Datlow for Best Horror of the Year 2 and Sarah Totton's 'Flatrock Sunners' the only 2009 story as yet to receive any kind of award (though as ever we have our fingers crossed for more glittering prizes).

One claim made by SFX editor Ian Berriman in responding to Maura McHugh, is that they receive very few books by female horror writers for review, and this seemed rather the opposite of my experience with Black Static. Admittedly I do take a somewhat eclectic approach to what types of book I'll review, with titles that from a 'purist' perspective might get classified as urban fantasy, paranormal romance, crime, mainstream literary etc all up for consideration. I take the view that most of our readers are not simply interested in horror alone, and any book with a 'dark' element is fair game.

Since I began this blog back in April 2009 I've been listing books received, and out of 154 titles 32 have been by women authors/editors (approximately 20%). In that time we've published five issues and I've reviewed 76 titles, and 16 of those have been by women (again, approximately 20%).

Those figures might suggest that I'm operating some sort of quota system, but that's simply not the case. When selecting books to review I look at my list of what's available and choose the titles that appeal to me most, or those that can be slotted in together to make up a feature of some sort. Sometimes those features are going to end up with a female bias (e.g. the recent feature on serial killers, or those we've run on vampires in the past), and sometimes women will be excluded altogether. Similarly there are authors who are always going to be reviewed by me when I'm sent their books and others I'm simply not interested in. But all such decisions are based on my ideas of what will fit well and what I'll enjoy, and (at least consciously) gender doesn't come into the equation.

It's early days as yet, but after many years in the doldrums, the horror genre is at last showing signs of a return to health. Publishers are no longer afraid to use the H word and being called 'the next Edgar Allan Poe' is no longer a career death knell. Women writers like Sarah Langan and Alexandra Sokoloff, Kaaron Warren and Sarah Pinborough, are a vital part of that revival, and it's sad that when it comes to soliciting opinions, to seeking out people who can articulate their thoughts about the genre and act as its spokespersons, bodies like SFX simply overlook or forget about them and go straight to the usual (male) suspects. It's sad that we're doing this to ourselves as a genre, and through simple thoughtlessness, and at a time when our moment to shine might have come round again.

Women are naturally enough articulating their dissatisfaction about this situation, and it's right that they should be the ones who take the lead in doing so, but it's a matter that should concern everyone who loves the horror genre and wants to see it flourish, whether male or female, writer or reader. If nothing else, then a simple sense of justice, a desire to see people get the proper recognition for their achievements, should provide reason enough.

There are other reasons, but a comment made by Harlan Ellison in an interview I read many years ago seems most apposite. Ellison was talking about why he campaigned for America's Equal Rights Amendment, and I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was words to the effect that he didn't see why he had to lose out on experiencing the work of female artists and writers and sculptors because society expected those women to stay at home and do housework.

What are women to think when reading articles like the one in SFX, other than that horror is a genre where they will be regarded as unimportant, no matter what books they write, what awards they receive, how many copies they sell? And who could blame them if they decided to hitch up their wagons and head off to some other genre where their efforts will be better appreciated? But if so then all of us who love horror will be the poorer.

So in future let's just make sure that we give the ladies their due.